Healthy Substitutions Can Be Hard to Figure Out!

I love the smell of bacon (yes, I just admitted it!).  Of course, by noontime when the smell has been in my kitchen for 4 hours, my adoration becomes slightly questionable.  For those brief breakfast moments, I am in heaven.  Then, I start to think about the nutritional value of what I just ate, and the guilt sinks in.  I’m not here to tell you what you should or shouldn’t feel guilty about eating, but for me, I look for the small things that I can transition out of my diet while still getting delicious flavors of things I love in my food. 

Here are my top substitutions made without anyone in my family noticing a difference:

• Bacon – Canadian Bacon and lean Proscuitto. 
• Bread Crumbs – Crushed bran cereal, who knew? 
• Butter – Applesauce (in recipes), non-fat cooking spray (browning) , juices/wine (basting)
• Ground Beef – Ground turkey
• Oil (Veggie and Olive) – Expeller Pressed Canola Oil
• Pasta – Whole wheat pasta
• Salt (on the table) – Fresh citrus fruits to squeeze including limes and lemons
• Sugar/Sweeteners (tea & coffee) – Xagave

There are a lot of little things you can do to make a big difference in your health.  So take small steps to get there.  Substitute one item a month for twelve months, and then look how far you’ve actually gone in transitioning to a healthy lifestyle!  It’s not an easy road, but it’s one we can work on together. 

Let us hear from you: What substitutions have you achieved and help you stick to a healthy diet?